Still Here
by Fantasy Cat
Summary: BETHYL. Post season 4. When the group finally finds Beth, she definitely gains a noticeable difference that can't be hidden. Scared as she is, Beth has come to accept her predicament. But will Daryl?
1. Chapter 1

**Sh*t! What have I done?! I started a new fic! You people don't understand. I have poor writing concentration and the plot bunnies are torture! I could've made this a Drabble Goodness drabble but the amount of writing involved for this idea wouldn't allow for it. I will try my best with this one since my other fics are almost wrappin' up. But I just had to write dammit!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or TWD. Nothing ever beats canon anyway.**

* * *

"Beth? Beth?!"

Maggie was calling out frantically as the hospital halls were being scoured. Rick and Daryl were being far more cautious then they were as they checked each room. In each one, the result was the same...dead or walking dead. The latter were quickly finished off but what disturbed the trio more were the details. The dead in the rooms wore hospital scrubs and the bars on the windows and the locks on the doors meant that they had been held against their will in these rooms...possibly to die.

Rick and Daryl were already fearing the worst for Beth, but Maggie was too busy going up and down the halls calling out for her sister, not caring who heard.

"Maggie?"

The voice was soft but recognizable.

"Beth?"

"I'm in here."

Maggie turned a corner into the first room. The sudden joy of seeing her sister for the first time in so many months caused her to overlook the obvious differences in Beth...until they hugged. She stepped back in shock and nearly tripped on the dead body on the floor. It was that of a doctor with a scalpel stuck in the back of the head. She looked back up at Beth, confused and horrified.

"Oh god, Beth...what happened to you?"

Beth didn't know what to say. It was more complicated than what it seemed but she wasn't surprised by her sister's reaction. How was she going to explain this to her? And the others? Were they here? How was she gonna explain this to them?

"It's...it's not what it looks like."

"What it looks like? Beth, look at you!"

"I can explain. Please..."

Maggie could see her sister breaking under the pressure and embraced her sister again. "It's okay...it's okay. You don't have to tell me now."

"I can't run."

"I know," said Maggie. "Just let me go get Rick and Daryl and we'll get you outta here."

Oh god, Beth thought. Daryl was here? Daryl had found them? "No, please! I can't let them see me like this!"

"You're not gonna be able to hide it," said Maggie.

"Please, Maggie..."

Maggie sighed and then looked around the hospital room. She opened the large cabinet and found a foldable wheelchair and a blanket. She helped Beth onto the wheelchair and the used the blanket to cover her up to her chest.

At that moment Rick and Daryl found them in the room. "Beth!"

"Rick!"

Daryl was unable to say anything, he was just speechless. "Maggie, why didn't you call out for us?"

"I was just...too happy I guess," said Maggie. "Beth can't run."

"It's alright," said Rick. "I think I saw a medical van outside. I'll bring it to the entrance. Daryl, make sure they get there."

"Uh...right," said Daryl. But he was too busy looking at Beth. As relieved as he was to see her for the first time in months, he could tell something had really changed about her but he couldn't put his finger on it. She broke the silence. "Daryl, you found them?"

"We...kinda all found each other," he said giving her an assuring smile. "We'll tell ya about it after we get outta here."

Maggie pushed Beth in the wheelchair and they followed Daryl out into the hall. There were very few walkers to take out along their and then Beth realized something. "The doctors...did you kill them?"

"Just the ones that shot at us," said Daryl. "The others were already dead. Looks like walkers got 'em."

While Beth was relieved she was also scared when she heard the news. It was going to make telling the truth alot harder. All the while, she could sense Daryl eyeing her as if he knew she was hiding something. That was soon forgotten once the got to the doors. Rick had the medical van ready so Beth never had to leave her wheelchair, thankfully.

About 30 minutes into their drive, they saw a massive herd of walkers fast approaching the road and Rick was forced to put on the brakes. He made a sharp turn and nearly avoided collision. "Sh*t! That's our only way back to the group."

"We'll have to hold up somewhere for the night," said Maggie. "This herd's not gonna clear up for a while."

Rick drove around and found a nearby auto garage. All but one of the garage doors were closed which made Beth feel better because she could stay in the wheelchair. Once the van pulled into the open garage, Rick and Daryl got out to secure the area, then closed the last garage door.

"See what you can find," said Rick. "I'll take first watch."

"You okay, Beth?"

"Yeah," she told Maggie. In truth, she was starving, but she knew better than they did that there was little that could be done about it. Daryl was mulling around pretending to scavenge. He waited patiently until Maggie had walked away from Beth and then he approached her cautiously.

"Hey."

"Uh...hey."

"You haven't let go of that blanket since we found you. You cold or somethin'?"

It didn't take long for Daryl to catch onto Beth's hesitation. She had held the blanket to her in an unusual position ever since he saw her. She was pulling onto it very tightly like she was trying to stretch it out.

"Alright. I'm done with this." Daryl reached out to Beth's hand. "Stop! What are you doing, Daryl!"

"Tryin' to find out what you're hiding from me, girl."

"Please, don't!"

When Daryl pulled away that blanket, he would've been prepared for anything. After what the others had experienced at Terminus, he would not have been surprised to see Beth with her legs missing.

But this...he wasn't expecting at all.

Her legs were thankfully still intact. She was in the same scrubs as the other captives in the hospital wore...except her belly was sticking out, looking swollen. His mind drew a blank and then he realized, if his math was right...

...she had been missing for eight months.

Beth started to break the moment she saw Daryl go pale. What was the point, she thought. She couldn't hide her pregnancy forever.


	2. Chapter 2

She hated the way he was looking at her...a cross between disillusionment and something else.

"Daryl?"

His attention was now turned away from her, trying to make sense of it.

"Daryl, please say something."

Beth couldn't tell what he was feeling.

Devastated...that was the closest possible explanation for Daryl's range of emotions. Questions were swirling in his mind. Yet when it came down to it, there could only be two possible realities...

The first was that she had found someone. Eight months was a very long time to be separated from her family. He couldn't believe, at first, that Beth would forget about them and moved on to a different life. That wasn't the girl he gotten to know after the prison. But then Daryl realized during their time together, he had been convinced that the others were dead...he beat it into her head. That day at the moonshine shack... Did she finally take Daryl's words to heart and accepted that they were now all alone? Being separated from him had probably made her more alone than ever. Of course she would need to find comfort elsewhere. He couldn't blame her for that. But Daryl wondered though where "he" was unless "he" was already dead.

The other option, he doesn't want to think about. He couldn't deal with anymore guilt.

The circumstances that led them here...Beth being taken...Daryl had no one but himself to blame for that. This wasn't like losing Sophia or Hershel. He knew that he could've done more for them but he wasn't directly responsible for their losses. But Beth being found in her condition, he knew that was on him.

His voice was low but shaky. "Just tell me somethin'..." The look on his face was rather cold but also frightened. "...d'you at least, wanted it?"

Beth wasn't sure what he was asking her. Did he mean did she wanted to have a baby? That wasn't something on alot of people's minds in a zombie apocalypse. Was he asking if she was going to keep it? Well she hopes she'll able to. It was rather complicated.

But Beth knew that Daryl's "it" was the circumstances that led to this baby's existence.

"I..."

"Answer me, girl. It ain't that hard. D'ya wanted it to happen or didn't ya?"

Daryl was now losing his patience with Beth. Demanding as he was for answers, he already knew that he wasn't going to be happy with either answer. The way he was feeling inside right now a "yes" or a "no" were more than enough to twist the metaphorical knife in his gut.

Beth didn't know how to answer his question unless she attached the answer with a "but". There was so much to explain about the past eight months, she wonders if anyone was going to even believe her. It didn't matter thought because Maggie had been right. She couldn't hide anything anymore.

So she gave him the answer closest to the truth...she looked down and shook her head.

"I'll kill him..." he growled. "You tell me who he is and I'll kill him!"

Beth knew she had to calm him down before he started really losing it. "Daryl...it's not like that."

"What do you mean it ain't like that?!"

"I mean, I didn't have a choice...but it's not what you think it is."

"Stop messin' with me, girl!" He grabbed Beth by the arms. "I want answers! You didn't have a choice? Then tell me who took it from you?! Tell me!"

It was too late. Beth had unintentionally unleashed all of Daryl's rage and she couldn't control her tears. She just wanted him to listen...to understand. But she knew he wouldn't listen. The truth was crushing him.

"HEY!" Maggie ran over and pulled Daryl away from her sister. Rick was also beckoned by the commotion and was shocked to see Beth without the blanket for the first time. "What the hell, you think you're doing to her?!"

"She said she was raped!"

"I never said that!" Beth cried.

"Then hell...how do you think this sh*t happens, huh?! You ain't bein' straight with me!"

"Just stop it!" Maggie yelled. "Haven't you done enough?"

Rick knew that was his cue to pull Daryl away from this nasty situation to the far end of the auto garage. "Just give them their peace, man."

"Not till we find out who did this to her."

"And we will," said Rick. "You think she's ready to talk about what happened to her? I'll tell you, you're not gonna get it outta her the way you are right now. You need to calm down...give her time to deal."

It was clear that Daryl needed to stay away from Beth the rest of the night. Maggie would stay close to her sister and comfort her after that nasty Q&A. "Beth, you know, if you did sleep with someone...it's okay."

"But I didn't! I'm telling you."

"Okay...I believe you. Is there anything you can tell us?"

Beth was horribly nervous. "I...there's a lot but...it's really hard to talk about."

"Don't let Daryl get to you. He doesn't get to decide when you can talk. You do. When you're ready to talk about it, we'll be here."

"What about the others?" Beth asked. "They're gonna think..."

"They won't think anything," said Maggie. "They'll know that you went through some stuff and it's not gonna change their opinion of you. Plus we have some new people with us who don't even know you so I doubt they care."

...

By morning, the herd of walkers had dispersed and they were able to move on. The rest of the group had been hold up at a former plantation home. On the drive there Beth learned about the plan to go to D.C. and of a possible cure.

Maggie asked "you alright, Beth?"

"Yeah...it's just...you said a cure?"

"Well we're not exactly sure. That Eugene guy who's with us is being pretty tight-lipped. Says it's not safe to say to anything until we get there."

Daryl had been quiet the entire time keeping his distance from Beth. Being around her and her obvious pregnant belly was becoming to painful for him but he had to keep those emotions in.

When they arrived at the plantation, the familiar faces came out of the house, worried about the group since they had not arrived back last night like intended.

Maggie hugged Glenn. "We found Beth."

"Really?" he said. He didn't see her so she was probably still in the van.

"Yeah, but...listen, try not to say anything when you see her."

"Um...should I ask why?"

But by that time Rick was helping Beth out of the van. Sure enough, the others were pretty shocked to see what had obviously changed about her. Some of them were already thinking the worst but for the most part they still hugged her, welcomed her back into their fold all the same. They knew she had gone through a trauma and they weren't going to ask the big questions.

While Beth was meeting the new people, Maggie wanted a word with Daryl away from . "Are you gonna tell me what that was all about?"

"What?"

"The way you treated my sister last night. I thought you of all people would've been happy that we even found her."

"It ain't that."

"Look, I know okay. Whatever happened, it's really eating me up, too. But it's what it is right now. She has a baby coming and we need to help her with that. You can start by getting a hold of yourself and just accept it."

"Well I'm tellin' ya. She's hiding somethin'. She ain't tellin' us the whole truth."

"Don't you get it, Daryl? She's scared, okay? I don't even know if Beth is still Beth from eight months ago. So far...I think she is. But that doesn't mean you need to start shaking answers out of her. Later on, I think you should apologize."

"Fine, whatever," said Daryl. He sulked away from Maggie and followed the others back into the house. It would be business as usual now as their plans for what came next was now being set. He wasn't on board with D.C. in the beginning, even if they had found Beth. But now he was starting to question it. Running around Georgia wasn't going to be suitable for Beth anymore. It wasn't when Lori was pregnant with Judith.

At least in D.C., Beth would have a better chance even if he wasn't in the picture.

* * *

**So how you liking this so far? I know you're probably confused as hell and upset about this not being Daryl's baby. I mean they could've screwed (or as one reviewer put it, the "frickle frackle") but I didn't have it that way for a reason. Just remember when Beth says "it's not what you think". You'll see in time. Loving the favs and follows. Extra love for the reviews.**


	3. Chapter 3

**What a difference a chapter makes! I'm so happy that the reviews are finally coming in. I was getting so few reviews for my first chap and I was going WTF? I'm so happy that people are still intrigued enough to stay with the fic despite what is going on. I'm not pulling stuff out of my ass btw, not all of it. There is plenty of explanation for what is going on but it does require patience as you read along.**

**I just hope what happens in this chapter doesn't turn people away though. I warn you it does get disturbing in an unexpected way.**

**Again, don't say I didn't warn you.**

* * *

Beth was caught up on everything leading to her being here in this temporary home. Practically everyone had told her she was lucky to not have been with the rest of them at Terminus. It sounded horrible from the stories they were telling her. Yet she wasn't sure what she went through was any better.

The new people ranged from friendly to uneasy. There was Tara, who was pretty friendly as they come. And then there was Father Gabriel. When he called her child a "blessing from God", Beth was careful not to roll her eyes and instead gave him an assuring fake smile. This was no blessing of any sort if he had known all of the details. And then there were the Army people, including Dr. Eugene Porter. She didn't know why he was being quiet about the possible cure. She had a feeling however, that he would be of most help to her current situation for many reasons.

She was distraught to learn that Judith was the only child from the prison who made it. It was rather ironic for her when she was trying to hold her again but her bulging stomach made it extremely difficult.

"You should eat something, Beth," said Carol. She could tell how extremely famished Beth was.

"It won't help."

"Are you sure?"

"I can't keep anything down."

"Well hospital food has always been nasty stuff. You want I try to make you something?"

"Sure...um do you have any meat?"

"Not unless you want Daryl to go hunting."

Of course, Beth thought. She hated the possibility that she would need Daryl to do some hunting for her until this baby came out. "No that's okay."

"I'll see what we have with protein." Carol eventually procured some beef jerky from the new people and gave it to Beth. Beth hoped it would do the trick but she didn't like how salty it tasted. Soon she started feeling sick and was throwing up over the kitchen sink. Carol hurried over to her side to pull up her hair. "Beth!"

"I'm okay, Carol...," said Beth. "It's like I said. I haven't been able to eat any regular food."

"Well, what were they feeding you at the hospital?"

Beth did not want to answer that question. "I have to go to the bathroom, excuse me." Beth had gone to the nearest bathroom to do her regular business but found herself wanting to throw up again. But the blood began rushing to her head as she looked down into the toilet bowl and she feared she was going to faint. She had felt this way before all those times she had to throw up in the toilet next to her hospital room.

* * *

_"You can try all you want," said the doctor. "You know your baby won't take any kind of food but..."_

_"You're lying!" Beth was surprised that the doctors were mad at her for stealing some food from the kitchens. It was almost if they had expected her to. "It's just morning sickness."_

_"It's the final trimester, Beth. Morning sickness rarely occurs this late in the pregnancy. We've told you this a hundred times."_

_"I can't eat that stuff anymore," Beth cried. "I won't!"_

_"You're not going to last very long otherwise and we need you to survive. Why won't you accept the truth about the baby?"_

_Beth felt very defiant. They were telling her the same wild theories hundreds of times but she was not going to listen to any of them. "Because you're all crazy. It's all in my head because you keep telling me things that aren't true. I just have to get myself to think that everything's fine and I won't be sick anymore. You'll see. You'll all see."_

_But despite her defiance they made her eat what they brought her and she only accepted it out of desperation. It was never a fair fight when it came to her pregnancy._

* * *

When Beth realized how long she was kneeling over that toilet, she quickly got up and out. People would get suspicious or worrisome about her and she really was in no mood for it. Fortunately Carol was no longer in the kitchen and their conversation would be forgotten.

"You've been throwing up?"

Beth turned around and there was Maggie. "It's nothing. I just have trouble with food sometimes...you know...being pregnant and all."

"I don't think Lori ever had it as bad as you did. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Beth kept insisting.

"Okay, well...we have a bedroom for you at the far end of the house. You should get some sleep, Beth."

The bedroom was the only one on the first floor on that end of the hallway. Beth was relieved because she needed the privacy. The house felt too congested with numerous people going up and down and back and forth giving her looks that made her feel uncomfortable. She hadn't much of Daryl fortunately, as he was out hunting. She didn't know how to face him anymore after their confrontation at the garage. She had hoped for a better reunion between the two of them but once she became pregnant she knew all of that would change.

She would stay in her room for the rest of the day. Maggie and Carol had already checked with her a few times about eating something. As hungry as she was Beth had finally given up on trying to find something that wouldn't make her sick and insisted she was fine.

When nightfall came, the other people in the house were having a meeting about their decision about D.C. Ever since Beth came back in her condition, everyone was now starting to believe that D.C. was the best viable option.

Beth quietly peaked out and from the voices she heard, she knew most of them were in the living room. Her knees began to buckle just outside the hall but she managed to grasp the doorknob and quickly made her way back into her room. She tried to sleep again but her head became lightheaded and she felt really jittery and almost feverish. She knew had to eat soon or it wasn't going to be good for her or the baby. It was kicking wildly again.

Soon everyone went to their rooms and Beth felt lucky that her room was on the ground floor. She grabbed a flashlight and one of the knives that was given to her by Maggie and then pried opened her bedroom window. It was a pain trying to crawl out. She had to crab crawl her way out the window with just inches between the upper window frame and her stomach. She sighed when her feet touched the grass. It felt like a total workout.

It was a cool night but no sign of walkers. She cautiously stepped over the walker alarm system in place just outside the houses and began to cringe everytime she accidentally stepped on crunching leaves. Beth used her flashlight to find her way through the trees. She remembered Daryl doing this all the time. She remembered what little he had taught her about tracking. This shouldn't be difficult.

Eventually she spotted some squirrels resting on a log. She had hoped for snakes but a squirrel would have to do. She never killed one alive before. When she was with Daryl, he was usually left to do it but she had no choice this time. The squirrels would be too fast if she hesitated. So she took the knife in her hands and closed her eyes. The knife quickly went through the backside of one squirting out a small amount of blood.

The next thing she had to do made her truly want to vomit. But there was no choice anymore. If what almost as if those doctors really were telling her the truth.

"It's not true," Beth whispered to herself. But the hunger and desperation was consuming her body. She could pass out right there in the woods if she didn't finish this soon and everyone in the house would be out looking for her. There was no time left.

She used the knife treating the struggling, bleeding, squirrel like food on a fork. "I'm sorry," she told the squirrel. At least when Daryl killed animals for food, it was done quick with minimal pain. She couldn't do that in her case no matter how much she wanted to. "I'm really sorry."

She opened her mouth wide and took the quickest bite to the squirrel's neck.

Every urge was fought in Beth's mind to not focus on the taste, or the wrongness of the act. She just wished that she could just swallow the thing whole but out of instinct, she was chewing on it against her own desire. She dropped the knife and gulped relentlessly until she had finally swallowed every bit of that poor squirrel's head.

The only thing Beth wanted to do after that moment was just cry but she wouldn't get a chance. The noise of crunching leaves caused her to turn around and she was blinded by a light.

When she lifted her arm up for a better view, she wished right there that she could disappear.

"What the f*ck?!"

Daryl was standing there with his flashlight in hand trying to question whether or not what he saw was actually real. Beth Greene was standing there, in the middle of the woods with small bits of flesh and blood staining the sides of her mouth. By her feet was a knife with a headless squirrel stuck within, almost as if it had been chewed off.

Beth looked at him with shameful pleading eyes. "Please don't tell anybody."

* * *

**Warned ya. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Damn! The reviews are rocking now! I'm amaze you're all still here after the last chap cliffhanger. There will be more to come this weekend, I assure you since this chap turned out to be longer than I had originally planned.**

* * *

Daryl started to wonder if he was losing his mind. For a second, he could've sworn that Beth had turned into a walker.

"Please, don't tell anybody."

After hearing her voice, Daryl's grip on his crossbow loosened. But he still couldn't comprehend how she looked or why she was even here. He realized how cold it was getting outside and realized she had to be too since she was still in her hospital scrubs.

"Are you crazy, girl?" he asked her. "You can't be out here like this!"

He gripped her arm and pulled her back towards the house. "What do you think you're doing out here, anyway?"

"I had to eat something."

"We had plenty of food back in the house."

"I can't eat that stuff!"

"So you thought you could do your own huntin'?"

"You don't understand."

"I don't need to understand nuthin' other than you've lost your mind."

With as much force as she could she pulled herself away from Daryl's grip. "You think I'M crazy?!"

Daryl stopped. He looked at Beth and found her looking both exhausted and frustrated. "I'm not as crazy as them...the people who took me!"

"What about them?"

Beth found herself unable to speak. Daryl just shook his head and they both walked quietly back to the house. "Listen...sorry about flippin' out on ya."

"You don't have to be," said Beth. "I think it's time you knew."

"You sure?"

She nodded. "Tomorrow, I'll tell you and Maggie."

* * *

_She remembered very little about what happened after she found the window and headed towards the road. Only that she felt someone pulling on the bag she had on from behind and in her side vision, she swore she saw two blinding headlights before blacking out._

_For hours, Beth thought that she was sleeping in the same coffin she was in the night before. She never believed Daryl when he said they were pretty comfy but after some urging she gave it a chance and he had been right._

_But then Beth realized she couldn't move. That's when her eyes finally opened to her new surroundings. It looks like a hospital room._

_Every attempt to squirm her way out of the straps that bound her to the hospital bed did not help but that didn't stop her from trying._

_"Don't strain yourself. They'll take them off soon."_

_Beth turn her head to the right and saw a woman about a decade older than her approaching her. The woman looked scraggly and was wearing hospital scrubs. Her light brunette hair was frizzy and unkempt. If she was a patient, then Beth was not in a well-caring hospital. Behind, her Beth could see that the only window in the room had been both boarded up and barred._

_"How do you know?" Beth asked her._

_"They put me in the same straps when I came in."_

_"Where are we? What are they doing to us?"_

_"Alot of things." That was the most Beth knew she was going to get out of the woman. "I'm Sarah."_

_Beth sighed. "Beth."_

* * *

It was going to be difficult. But Maggie had been right. She couldn't hide anymore. But she knew the truth would horrify the group. She didn't know how the new people would react either and she knew there was friction in the group, but that was typical.

She decided to just limit it to the people who found her first, Rick, Maggie, and Daryl. They needed to know more than anyone so they could decide what to do with her from here. Because Beth wasn't sure herself what to do anymore since everyone at the hospital was now dead. She didn't blame them for killing the doctors, however. They did deserve to die.

"Take your time," said Maggie. "We'll be patient." She eyed Daryl when she said that not having forgotten the way he interrogated her sister.

Beth was starting to feel feverish again. She hated when that happened and it was always at the worst possible times too. Now, as she looked at the three people in the room, she thought she was going to pass out. There would be sweating soon.

"The people I was with...in that hospital...they weren't doctors...not all of them. Some of them were scientists."

"Scientists?" asked Rick. "What were they doing?"

"They were looking for a cure," said Beth. "But they needed test subjects...walkers AND humans. The walkers were easy to catch. The humans, they had to wait...set traps where they think some survivors might go or stay..."

Daryl felt crushed. The funeral home really had been a trapped and the worst of it was that the signs were all there. A place that clean with plenty of food, of course it was going to be welcoming. He remembered how there was so many walkers when he made the stupid ill-fated decision to open that door. Walkers didn't just gather there like that. Drawing them out...that was what those scientists had planned all along. It made him sick to think about how he just let Beth fall into their hands.

"Based on how healthy we were, they would pick and choose what experiments they would use us for. A lot of them...they just let the walkers bite them...like it was important research."

"Oh Beth," said Maggie. "They didn't try to make one bite you, did they?"

"No," she said. But now that Beth thought about it, perhaps it would have been better...

* * *

_Beth and Sarah had not been bothered for many weeks with the exception of the occasional examinations. They seemed like the typical medical exam but Beth knew better. Eventually the two of them would be given their assignments...or rather...their role of guinea pig for a particular walker-related experiment. The experiment would depend on the results of the exams. Surprisingly, none of them were fated for the walker biting that the other captives were subjected to...at least not yet._

_During all that time in their prison though, Beth and Sarah had gotten to know each other and became good friends. In many ways Beth could see the woman's resemblance and nature seemed much similar to Lori._

_"You were alone when the found you?" Beth asked her._

_"I had just joined a group. But just after a few weeks, these vans appeared and walkers were spewing out everywhere. We were all split up. It made it easy to capture me, I guess." For a moment it seemed Sarah was reminiscing and then she started to get teary-eyed. "I thought it would be the one, you know? I thought I would finally be able to settle down...maybe have some 'semblance of a normal life."_

_"I know," said Beth. "I thought the prison was going to be the place, too. It really felt like a community there. Like a small town."_

_"That's funny," said Sarah. "I guess I was foolish, though. I actually thought that maybe I would find a guy there...maybe try again for a baby...do the things I hoped to do before everything happened."_

_"You said try again for a baby...what happened the first time?"_

_"Well my first marriage, we were like jack rabbits but we were getting no results. The doctor at the time believed I was infertile, but I wouldn't believe him. I guess he was right though. I was with a couple of guys after that marriage and nothing."_

_The door opened and several doctors came in. "Sarah, you've been given your assignment."_

_Sarah panicked but the doctors were already on her before she had a chance to run. Beth was also held down just in case, and was force to watch her only companion in that god-forsaken place be carried away._

_..._

_The next week, they started drugging Beth's food. She found herself sleeping longer and waking up sometimes on the floor. After a while, the drugging stopped and she found herself becoming sick and nauseous all the time. Had they already started on their experiments on her without telling her?_

_It was getting rather obnoxious and it depressed her that Sarah had yet to return._

_After three months, Beth wondered if she was starting to lose her sanity. She started noticing an unexplained bump on her abdomen and wasn't sure if she wanted to know its intended purpose. She only knew that the doctors must have done something...probably giving her some form of cancer._

_A doctor would eventually come to have a talk with her. "Beth, have you developing any unusual physical changes?"_

_"Yeah, the bump on my stomach. Are you trying to make me sick?"_

_"It's not a cancer, Beth. You're pregnant."_

_Did she hear that right? Did the doctor just told Beth that she was...? __"What? No. No, I can't be! It doesn't make sense." But the only conclusion had to be that people did something to her. "What...how did you...?"_

_"Egg implantation," said the doctor. "Have you heard of it?"_

_Beth nodded._

_"It was necessary because of the donors we had to use."_

_"Donors? What do you mean donors? You mean the father...?"_

_"You don't have to be concerned about that, Beth. The child was conceived in-vitro. You won't be genetically related in any way. Before the walkers, you would get paid for this kind of work. You would be considered a surrogate parent."_

* * *

For some reason, hearing that this wasn't really Beth's baby in any form made Daryl relieved.

"One thing I don't get," said Rick. "What does you being pregnant have anything to do with a cure to the walkers?"

* * *

_Beth couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Why would you do this?! What's the point of it?!"_

_"It's important work. We all have to make sacrifices. The baby's parents...they had to make sacrifices too."_

_The parents? Were they test subjects or doctors? Beth had to know. "Can I meet them? The parents?"_

_"If you want. But don't try to run. We keep walkers in some of the corridors where some of our subjects have already tried to escape."_

_Beth reluctantly joined the doctor as they walked down the hall together. She rarely got to see the hallways. Once in a while she could hear the patients screaming or trying to run before being subdued. Other times, she would see walkers being strapped to gurneys just inches away from her. The only upside was that the doctors were at least careful with the walkers when they weren't needed._

_They finally arrived in a former surgery room. Through the operation window, Beth could see a group of doctors studying something, as soon as they disperse, she was left to see two walkers...one a man, the other a woman, strapped to separate gurneys. Their bodies were already shriveling and rotting. Beth could see bites on both of them. But the female walker, something about her seemed familiar...until the walker tried to lift its head up._

_"Sarah?"_

_Almost as if on cue the remains of Sarah turned too look at Beth but their was no sense of recognition...only that lifeless groan and stare._

_Beth looked down at her stomach, the horrible realization hitting her. "Oh god!" She tried to back away from everything...the doctors...the walkers. But there was nowhere to turn. "What did you do?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!"_


	5. Chapter 5

_It didn't matter what they told Beth. It didn't matter if her sacrifices were one step away from saving mankind. She was nothing more to these people than their guinea pig. But to have a baby...conceived by walkers, that was beyond madness. Besides, was that even possible? If it was a dead embryo then what was the point? She would have had a miscarriage eventually...at least that's what she both hoped and expected._

_But since it had been three months since the implantation, it seemed their twisted experiment was succeeding. So far the doctors were surprised that the fetus was accepting normal food, though they added a good amount of raw meat to Beth's diet just in case._

_There was also one other thing she had been wondering. "Wouldn't this thing kill me?"_

_The doctors explained to her. "We don't know. We think it made have to do with the brain. We think that the fetus won't truly become a walker until it's fully developed."_

_"That's not very reassuring," said Beth._

_A few weeks later Beth was due for her first ultrasound. The medical equipment in this hospital was quite shoddy so no one was certain of the results that would come about._

_When they did, the doctors were stunned. "I don't believe this. Heartbeat is normal. There's no abnormalities in the brain."_

_"Does that mean...?"_

_"Everything seems normal. The fetus isn't dead."_

_For the first time, Beth was crying tears of joy and was laughing. The baby was not going to be one of them. It was going to be a normal living, breathing baby. The doctors, of course, were disappointed. But Beth had never felt so good. Their experiment had failed. It was a true victory. Of course, this would only meant that the doctors would go back to the drawing board. They could find a way to kill to fetus so that it would turn. Beth was not going to allow that to happen._

_The doctors had eventually decided that they would continue to monitor the pregnancy with only minor interference. They believed that maybe they needed more time for the infection to catch up with the fetus._

_When Beth learned that the baby would be a boy, she thought of Sarah, and how she had struggled to conceive her own child. It made Beth sad that she would not live to see her dream accomplished. "I'm sorry about your mom," Beth told her belly. "I wish she could see you. But it's going to be okay. I'll keep you safe."_

_..._

_She tried to not keep her hopes up. She was still a prisoner, a test subject. If they couldn't use her for one experiment, they would find another._

_In the meantime, Beth tried to put her mind on other things. It was difficult to think about the others, to think about Maggie...and Daryl. For the first few months since they were separated, Beth had hope that Daryl had survive that night in the funeral home. But now she slowly began to believe that perhaps that wasn't the case. She was starting to think he had been right about no one else from the prison being alive._

_She had never been alone. All this time since the apocalypse began, that was her worst fear. All she had now was this baby that wasn't even hers. But maybe it wouldn't be much different from taking care of Judith. This was no ideal situation for being a mom but that shouldn't be surprising given the state of things._

_..._

_Late into the seventh month, Beth had noticed an unusual lack in the baby's movements. She waited several more days and then no movement. She called on the doctors for help and another ultrasound was given._

_"What is it?" ask Beth. "Why haven't you start it yet?"_

_"We already started, Beth. There's no heartbeat...no movement."_

_"What?! No! No! Your machine's just broken."_

_"I'm sorry, Beth. He must have died overnight."_

_"You did this!" Beth cried. "You did something, didn't you?!"_

_"We did nothing, Beth! It was an infected embryo, it was bound to catch up to the baby eventually."_

_Everything came crashing down for Beth. For the next 24 hours, she broke down once in a while begging, hoping for the little boy to move._

_The next day, she was woken by some erratic kicking and the doctors were called in again to give her another ultrasound. "You see that!" Beth pointed at the screen. "He's moving. He didn't die. He's alive!"_

_"We're not getting a heartbeat," said the doctor. "It's very responsive to movement."_

_"So what?"_

_"You know what did means, don't you Beth? It means he turned."_

_Beth started laughing, almost deniably. "You're lying." The doctor suddenly noticed that Beth was turning red. A hand to her head indicated that Beth was developing a very high fever. More doctors were called into the room as she passed out. Eventually the fever was under control. When Beth finally woke up she was surprised to find a live mouse in a small cage placed on her bed table._

_"What is that?!"_

_"Your lunch."_

_"Is this a joke?! You're not going to even cook it?"_

_"You need to eat it alive, Beth. It's the only way to feed the walker..."_

_"DON'T CALL HIM THAT! HE'S NOT A WALKER! HE'S NOT DEAD!"_

_The doctor was getting agitated and pulled out a protein bar. "Okay then. If you don't believe me. Then try to eat this. See if he'll accept it."_

_Beth angrily grabbed the bar and started to scarf it down. About a few minutes after digestion, she started to feel nauseous and threw up over the side of her bed. "It's just food poisoning," said Beth as she wiped the vomit from her mouth._

_The doctor then got up to leave the room. "You're not gonna be able to eat anything else until you eat that mouse, Beth. That isn't my choice. It's his."_

_Beth was left all alone for almost a day nearly on the verge of starving. How could the doctors here be this cruel? They say there's nothing they could do but all they had to do was bring her real food that her baby could eat._

_The next time someone came into the room to check up on Beth, they wound find an empty cage on the floor and the remains of a mouse tail left on the bed table. Beth's scrubs were stained with animal blood and she had not stopped sobbing._

_..._

_"A year ago, we had found a pregnant walker and brought her in. The baby must have been almost due because it only took a few days to come out...rather it spilled out of her without much effort, some guts too. We studied it for as long as we could."_

_"What happened?" Beth asked. Though in honesty, she didn't really care._

_"In a few months time, the flesh broke apart like dough. Infant walkers, have softer bodies so they deteriorate much faster. We eventually put it out of its misery."_

_After a while, Beth was unable to deny her situation anymore like she used to. A part of her still believed that eating nothing but live meat was all psychological. Once in a while, she would be able to eat animals that were already dead, but only if they were very raw. At least they hadn't fed her any human flesh...yet._

_"Why do this? What's the point of it all?"_

_"We needed a live carrier, Beth. We know that infections can spread from mother to child but rarely do we see it happen the other way around."_

_"Then I should be dead already," said Beth. "If my baby's infected then it should've infected me by now."_

_"We think the drugs we've given you might have kept the fever off...help you develop a resistance to the infection inside your body. It's very important...we need you to hold on as long as possible. If you give birth to this walker and survive, then you'll be the first human to have built an immunity against infection. Your blood could be used to make a vaccine. You could save humanity."_

_She cringed at the doctors whenever they referred to the baby as a walker. He should not have had to die in order for humanity to be "saved". To hell with it. That was all she was thinking in her mind. These people...they weren't helping humanity at all. They were not the greater good._

* * *

"Oh god, Beth."

Maggie rushed over to her sister and took her in her arms. It was only then did Beth realized she had been crying since she had finished her story.

Rick and Daryl were just in disbelief at what they just heard. Beth was pregnant with...a walker? They stepped out of the room to give the sisters their privacy. Finally Daryl spoke up. "Last night, I found her in the woods bitin' off a squirrel's head. She ain't playin' with us."

Rick rubbed his head. "Sounds like those doctors that did this to her don't even know what they're doing. She could still die from this...like Lori...for all we know."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"We need to go. We need to get to Washington. I know the CDC was a bust. But if the government is still runnin' up there...maybe they can help her. I know Maggie will want that for her."

But Daryl was worried about one other thing. "Do we even have time?"

"We tell Abraham. He'll wanna leave tonight. That's a start." Daryl was about to leave to do the job when Rick stopped him. "Hey...for now, everything she just said...we can't let anyone else know. We don't want anyone freakin' out."

Daryl nodded but suddenly they were interrupted by Maggie yelling "Rick! Daryl!" They rushed back into the room to find Maggie holding Beth. She was becoming short of breath and her skin was getting red and sweaty. "She just started burning up!"

Beth was no longer conscious either.

* * *

**Whew! I didn't expect the backstory to be as long as it was. Well I hope that answered a lot of questions but I guess it also opened the door for new ones. Also I hate to admit this but I'm not the strongest romance writer. I'm weak as they come so if you have any ideas on how to Bethyl-ize this story with all the crazyness going on feel free to bounce some ideas off of me. Thanx.**


	6. Chapter 6

The fever was torture...pure torture. But she knew she would survive it. The heat would strike Beth without warning, causing her to pass out. It was her body fighting off the infection of the walker inside of her...at least that's what she was told.

Hours later, Beth finally woke up. "Bob, she's up!"

Bob and Maggie came by her bedside and Bob felt her head. "Still warm, but not as worst as before." He grabbed some aspirin and a bottle of water. "You might want this." Beth took the aspirin but it wasn't going to do her much good. The drugs...whatever those drugs they gave her at the hospital...that was the only thing that helped her when she had her fever spells.

"I've never seen a fever like this," said Bob. "Except with walker bites...You sure she wasn't bit or scratched?"

"Yea," said Maggie.

Beth was short of breath but it didn't stop her from trying to speak up. "Mag-gie..."

"Beth don't!" Beth grabbed hold of her sister's arm anyway. "I need..."

"Yes? What is it?"

At that moment Daryl appeared by the doorway. "Hey, Bob. How 'bout you go get some more ice for Beth?" Daryl watched Bob reluctantly leaved the room and then closed the door. With him gone, it now felt safe for Beth to talk. "The hospital...that I was at. They gave me these drugs whenever I felt hot...I think..."

"You need them?" asked Maggie.

Beth nodded. "I don't want to but..."

"Daryl can go back for them..."

"He won't know which ones to get."

"You're crazy if you're thinkin' of goin'," said Daryl.

"I have to. I know that hospital better than anyone."

Daryl was shaking his head at the idea of Beth going back to that hospital. He would be a little more comfortable with it if there were more people to go. But Rick and Abraham were already making plans for Washington and sent most of the group out in search of vehicles and fuel for the trip. They would be gone all day.

"We'll all go together then," said Maggie. "Get the medicine and we'll make it back before the others do."

...

When Beth, Maggie, and Daryl arrived back at the hospital, they found the place lifeless. There were only a few walkers still active that they took out on their way inside.

"Will it be in your room?" asked Maggie.

"No...I think they had a special room. They said they stored everything there." The halls were beginning to split up like a maze.

"I'll check down this hall."

"Maggie..."

"We'll save time this way. You stay with Daryl."

Maggie turned a corner and disappeared into the dark causing Beth great concern. Daryl grunted. "Relax, she'll be fine." He continued further down the hall looking back occasionally at Beth. "I guess I get it now...why you didn't want anyone to know how you got that kid."

"I was going to keep him," said Beth. "...if he hadn't died."

"I know."

"Does that make you mad?"

"Why would that make me mad?"

"I dunno. It's just...you know before I was taken...back at the funeral home, I thought..."

"That was a long time ago," said Daryl. But what did that mean? Did it mean that Daryl wanted her to forget about it? That moment when she asked him what changed his mind about good people...that wasn't easy for her to forget, especially when it was the last thing she remembered before everything went wrong. "Besides, none of this sh*t woulda happen to you if it weren't for me..."

"What? Daryl that's not..."

"Come on, girl. It is... The place was a trap and I was a f*ckin' dumbass for thinkin' it was safe. I practically handed you over to 'em!"

Beth was upset but she tried to remain calm. "But I'm okay now, Daryl."

"And what about when that kid comes out? You don't think I forget what happened to Lori?"

Before Beth could even think what to say, Maggie reappeared. "I think I found it." She led them to the back of the hospital to a pair of large doors to what used to be a morgue. They were greeted with a red sign that said RESTRICTED.

"This it?" She asked Beth but she wasn't so sure. "I've never been in there before."

"I'll go first," said Daryl. "We don't know what's in there."

Daryl carefully opened the doors and led the way in. Beth was sandwiched in the middle with Maggie in the rear. All three of them carefully waved their flashlights around when they started hearing rustling.

The first walker they came across was strapped to a hospital bed with its stomach cut opened...its guts spilling out. Maggie stabbed it and the continued onward.

It appeared as though makeshift walls were installed. Because as they turned a corner, more light seeped in...

The open room they were now in seemed like a freak show at a circus. There were tanks, filled with amputated body parts of walkers. In one tank the upper half of a walker started banging its head against the glass at the presence of human life. But it no longer had its jaw or limbs. It wouldn't be able to do anything to the trio.

But what finally got them to freeze in horror was nearby table containing several jars and a small tank. The jars had creatures that seemed to be writhing like worms. In the tank was a very pale translucent creature. It seemed helpless as it flapped around from side to side, like a fish dying on land. But no noise came from it, only a soft groan. The creatures, they came to realize seemed to resemble human babies, tinier than any they had ever seen.

They were fetuses and true to the nature of the virus, they were reacting to the noise and lights around them with a hunger for human flesh they would never know.

"Oh." Beth turned her head away. She couldn't find it in her to throw up because all she could think of her mind was that baby...the one in this tank, that was going to be her baby once it was born. She had been told that since newborns had no teeth and weak nails, she needn't worry about the baby trying to eat her from the inside. And somehow that made her even feel worst about it. It wouldn't be able to roam or eat like other walkers. Her baby was going to struggle, even in death.

She just couldn't take that.

"Hands where I can see them!"

The trio turned around. Daryl instinctively pulled out his crossbow and now had it aimed at the stranger. He wore a labcoat and had a shotgun aimed back at them. "What do you people think you're doing?" The man then looked over at Beth and was surprised to see her. "Subject 23? You're still alive?"

Daryl stepped infront of Beth continuing to aim his crossbow at the man. "Thought we got rid of all of you."

The man realized these were the same people that were here just a couple of days ago. "You bastards have no idea what you've done," said the man. "We were doing some really important work here."

"Important work?" said Maggie. "You call feeding people to walkers important work?"

"We did what we had to for a cure. Thank god, you're alive, Subject 23. You're still our best chance now."

Daryl growled. "She ain't your lab rat, no more. Now get lost!"

"You don't understand! We already told our colleagues in G.W. we would be bringing her to them...so once the walker's born, we could start producing the vaccine right away and you almost f*cked everything up!"

"G.W.?"

"George Washington University...in D.C., the last of our best scientists were hold up over there. You have to let me take her."

"She ain't goin' anywhere with you!"

As Daryl and the scientist were arguing, Beth was starting to feel warm again. "Beth?" Maggie hurried to support her sister. "She needs her medicine."

"It's in the storage room," said the scientist. "But when you guys came in here the other day, you let some walkers get in."

"You best go get it then," said Daryl. The scientist headed out of the morgue and the others followed him until they arrived in the storage room. Daryl and Maggie were on high alert while they waited for the scientist to return with a case. "There's about a month's worth left. You give her a shot once a week."

Maggie sat Beth down so they could give her the medicine but once she did, they heard a growling noise. Several walkers came out from a hidden corridor and lunged at the scientist. Daryl and Maggie were quick to eliminate the walkers. But the scientist was already covered in exposed scratched all over his body and collapsed to the ground.

"You have to..." the scientist coughed. "...you have to get her to Washington..."

Daryl shot an arrow into the man's head and everything went quiet again. "Let's get outta here."

Maggie helped Beth up and they walked down the hall towards the exit with Daryl leading. They came across a familiar surgery room.

"Stop!"

Maggie and Daryl turned to Beth, who would not move. "There's...there's something I need to do first..."

"You crazy, girl? We gotta go!"

"Please, just give me a minute!"

Beth opened the door leading into the surgery room. Just as she remembered it, the bodies of the two walkers were still there...the baby's unknown father...and the baby's mother...Sarah. Their bodies were now even more deteriorated since she last saw them. They could barely move their heads anymore when they saw Beth enter the room.

Daryl and Maggie didn't know what to do other than just stand by the door.

Beth pulled out the knife she had on her and quickly stabbed the male walker. She then went over to Sarah. "I'm sorry Sarah..." she whispered. "I promised to keep your baby...but I failed. I'm so sorry..."

She closed her eyes and finally put an end to her friend's misery.


	7. Chapter 7

The trio had made it back to the house shortly before a large Greyhound bus pulled up along with some other vehicles. Rick and Abraham ordered everyone to pack up in preparation to leave for Washington D.C. first thing in the morning, while they transferred fuel to the bus that they would all be riding in for the entire trip.

"Whoa." Glenn looked at Maggie and Beth and noticed a peculiar amount of dried blood on their clothes. "What happened to you two?"

"We went on a run with Daryl," said Maggie. "Didn't go too well."

"You sure that's safe taking Beth along? I mean she's..."

"I know what she is, Glenn. And she wanted to..."

"Oh speaking of which..." Glenn opened up his bag to retrieve some bottles. "Pre-natal stuff. Looks like I got luckier finding some than when I was helping Lori. We also got you some maternity clothes."

Beth didn't know what to say because she felt the vitamins would be of no help. But then she remembered that he had no idea about the truth. So she quickly said, "thank you, Glenn."

Beth went to the bathroom with a bottle of water. She wanted to give the vitamins a chance. Perhaps they wouldn't have the same effect on the baby that trying to eat non-flesh food did. She tried to consume to vitamins but found herself almost choking on them causing herself to cough water all over the bathroom sink. Her eyes had gotten watery and not just from trying to clear her throat.

A soft tap on the door. "Beth?" Maggie could hear her sister sobbing on the other side of the door and was just helpless. She opened the door a bit and peaked in.

"He...," Beth was choking on her own words now as Maggie hugged her. "He can't be dead."

"Maybe he isn't..." said Maggie. "Maybe the doctors screwed it up."

"They took an ultrasound."

"You think those things would still work right after all this time? That hospital looked like sh*t, Beth. Maybe we can find another one...prove your baby never died."

But other things still bothered Beth. "Then why can't I eat anything? Why am I sick all the time?"

"That's common stuff when you're pregnant, Beth. I know you don't think that, but I need you to have a little faith here. It's what daddy would have wanted."

"I'd hate for him to see me like this."

Beth's thoughts were consumed by what they had witnessed at the hospital...particularly the walker baby. A part of her wished they had gone back to the morgue and given those little ones their mercy killings but she couldn't bring herself to look at them again. Seeing them the first time was hard enough.

The image ended up ingrained into her dreams that night. She remembered how back at the prison, she would have the occasional dream of walking over to Judith's crib, pulling out the blanket and see that she had become a walker. But now...ever since the last ultrasound, it was a variety of horrific and brutal nightmares. She knew her baby would be weak but in her dreams, she would give birth only to be attacked by her own child...or to have the child attack Maggie and the others.

It kept her from getting any decent amount of sleep these days.

...

Rick had been informed about the scientist at the hospital and the lab at GWU. "You sure it's safe for her to be going up there?"

"Ain't no sure about it," said Daryl. "You heard 'im. They got people waitin' for her up there. She ain't goin'!"

"We can't stay here," said Maggie. "The baby is coming. She needs real medical care."

"Maggie's right," said Rick. "Washington's still the best option for her."

Daryl was still very much against the plan. "And you gonna trust those people?"

"What about the people we're taking Eugene to?" said Maggie. "They gotta have some sort of hospital running, better than what we have here. They can help her."

"And what if there ain't?" said Daryl. "Somethin' tells me he's full of sh*t."

"Look. I can't tell Abraham we changed our minds. We're leaving for Washington either way."

Daryl walked away grumbling. "Not likin' this one bit."

Little did they know that someone in the hall had been listening in on the conversation with both shock and curiosity.

...

Despite Daryl's protests, the entire group was boarding the Greyhound en route to Washington...there was room for each person to have their own section of the bus but Beth had to sit in the far back. It was the only part of the bus that had enough room for her to relax. It was also quiet and isolated. She wasn't going to bother with sleeping on the bus. What was the point?

But curiosity got the best of her when she looked over her seat and found the gray-haired mullet man just sitting two rows ahead of her.

"Excuse me."

Eugene nearly jumped from his seat and then turned around. "You're talking to me?"

"Yeah," said Beth. "You're a scientist aren't you?"

He looked nervous and uncertain of himself. "Um...I guess."

"I know you can't say a whole lot about what you know. But I was just wondering...Do you think it's possible...for people to be pregnant with walkers?"

"Well...have you seen the movie, _Alien_?"

Beth shook her head. She heard of the film, but she never had the nerve to watch horror movies.

"The creature attaches itself to your face and uses your breathing passages to transfer its offspring which later hatches and finds it way out of your body."

Beth's face went pale. "Is that what will happen to..."

"To what?"

She took a few deep breaths. "Sorry. You were talking about the movie, weren't you? I thought...never mind. Forget I said anything." She went back to her seat a bit shaken.

...

Soon the bus pulled over. "Listen up," said Abraham. "I didn't want to pull over for the night but Grimes here insisted."

"We weren't gonna make it there by nightfall anyway," said Rick.

"Pansies...if that's how you want it. Fine. Let's start figuring out who's on point."

Everyone got off the bus to set up camp around it for the night. Within an hour everything was set and Daryl had already scored a deer for the group's meal. Beth watched them as they cooked the meat and started eating. Her mouth was salivating and it was killing her because she didn't want to throw up infront of the others.

"Aren't you gonna have some, Beth?" Carl asked him.

"No thanks."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah...I just need to go to the bathroom for a sec." Beth quietly went into the trees where she spotted Daryl washing up. "I..." she stuttered. "I need to eat."

Daryl looked at her confused. "Didn't you even see me bring back that buck?"

"You know what I mean, Daryl. Besides...I can't eat infront of them...not they way I need to."

Daryl understood and he led her into the woods. It didn't take him long to spot a squirrel on a nearby tree. "How fresh ya need it to be?"

"I dunno," she said. "I guess it can't be dead for too long."

She waited patiently for Daryl to shoot the squirrel and bring it back to her. He quickly cut the squirrel's stomach opened. Even after all the live animals she had been forcefully fed back at the hospital, the sight still unnerved her. Daryl dipped his fingers into the squirrel and picked up some of the meat. "It ain't that bad. Cookin' just takes all the good stuff out." He hoped that eating some of the meat with his own fingers would make Beth feel less embarrassed about the night he saw her eat off the squirrel's head. Daryl was used to eating raw animal this way.

Reluctantly, Beth followed his example and picked up some of the meat for herself. She devoured the meat with no judgement from Daryl. The rest would be hers.

"You think goin's a good idea?"

Beth knew what he meant. "It's not like I have much of a choice."

"What if your kid's still alive?"

"What if he isn't?"

Daryl got up. "Wouldn't kill you to have a little faith."

The words were both searing and yet humorous. That was irony, she supposed. "All I know is, you ain't going to that lab he was talking about. Trust me when I say your baby's just fine."

Beth really wanted to believe him and Maggie. It just seemed hard to ever since the doctors at the hospital had insisted on the opposite. Maybe Maggie was right. All she needed was another ultrasound...a working on. That would set the matter straight once and for all.

When it was time to sleep, Abraham arranged for four people to be on guard at different points per shift. Since sleeping was no option, Beth opted for lying back and just looking at the stars, strangely feeling relaxed and hopeful for the first time. She heard some footsteps approaching.

"You don't need to be lookin' after me, Daryl. I'm fine..." She felt a hand quickly cover her mouth and the other pulled her up by the collar of her shirt.

"Damn. You're heavy!"

It was too dark to see what was happening. Whoever was dragging her into the woods was strong but there was a sense of unusualness about it. A white car eventually stood out amongst the trees, as her captor opened the door and forced her in. She struggled to get out but the crampness of the car and her baby belly made it challenging. Her captor was in the driver's seat starting the car and she knew it was too late.

When she looked over to see who her captor was...it was the last person she had ever expected to be stuck in this situation with.

"Sorry...this is awkward" her captor said. "I've uh...never really kidnapped anybody before."

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffhanger. It was easier than losing sleep trying to write more. Anyway you'll find out who kidnapped Beth and why. And it will be rather awkward indeed. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Eugene was pressing hard on the gas but the car was struggling through all the mud and branches in their path.

"Are you crazy?!" Beth yelled at him.

"Where's the lab?"

"What lab?"

"The one, Rick and Maggie were talking about. The one where the scientists are waiting for you?"

"But...how did you know?"

"Overheard some stuff. Then your question on the bus today...I put two and two together. Your baby's a walker. I find that pretty cool to be honest." The engine was starting to sputter. This kidnapping was not going as well as planned.

"Why are you doing this? Couldn't you have waited till we go to D.C.?"

"I take you to the scientists, they make that cure out of you or whatever...and I take the credit. No one's the wiser."

"But don't you...unless..." Beth had come to the ultimate conclusion. "You're not a real scientist...there is no cure, is there?"

"I'm just a good liar," said Eugene.

"Won't your cover be blown if everyone finds that me and you are both gone? No explanation whatsover?"

Eugene cursed himself. "Oh...I had a feeling something was wrong with this idea."

"Let's just get back to camp. No one has to know about this."

But before Eugene could consider the idea. His car door opened and Eugene was pulled out of the car and onto the ground. Daryl was hovering over him throwing punches at Eugene as the others arrived. Beth squirmed to get out of her seat until Maggie and Glenn appeared to help pull her out. "Are you alright, Beth. Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine, Maggie." Beth hurried over to the other side of the car. Rick was holding Daryl back and Abraham was pulling Eugene off the ground. Daryl was fighting his way out of Rick's grip to lunge at Eugene again. Beth cried "Daryl, stop!"

"Just what the hell's going on here?" asked Rick.

"You put the nerd on watch and the second he was alone, he tried to grab Beth. That's what happened," said Daryl.

"JESUS FUCK, PORTER!" Abraham said. "You better have a damn good explanation for this!"

"He's not a scientist!"

Everyone was shocked by what Beth said. "Is this true?"

Eugene shrugged. "I suppose teaching high school science is not the same thing."

All the people were pissed. But none so than Abraham as he grabbed Eugene by the collar."You lied to us?! We dragged our asses hundreds of miles for you! People died for a cure that you f*cking lied to us about!"

"Why would you kidnap Beth?" asked Maggie. "She has nothing to do with your lies."

Eugene pointed at Beth. "But her's baby a walker."

Soon all faces turned away from Eugene and at Beth. The looks on Rick, Maggie, and Daryl's face indicated that they had already known the truth. Glenn was one of the first to notice. "Y-y-you...you guys knew?"

"We didn't want anyone to panic," said Rick.

Abraham quickly dropped Eugene and pulled out his gun. Daryl realized that he was aiming it at Beth and he jumped him.

The next few moments were absolute chaos.

People were yelling at each other, as Daryl, Rick, and the others try to hold Abraham back and disarm him. Maggie pulled Beth out of the chaos. "What the hell?!"

"We can't take our chances! She's gonna turn!"

"She's not dying!"

In the midst of all the clamoring and yelling Michonne looked over and saw rustling in the bushes. It almost looked like a walker.

"Everyone quiet!"

Michonne hurried over to the bushes as the chaos died down. They all realized then that all of their commotion would've attracted nearly every walker in the area.

"We need to get back to the bus," said Rick.

"Hold on a second." To everyone's surprise, instead of pulling out a walker from the bushes, Michonne had pulled out a living man. Her katana was quiclkly placed to the man's neck.

The man put his hands up. "Whoa! Easy!"

Rick pointed his gun at him. "You better not be involved in this."

"Involved in what? I just heard all you guys yelling and stuff and I knew there was people here." He dropped one hand to greet Rick. "Name's Aaron." Rick did nothing, nor did the others. They only just looked at him. "Look, Aaron. This ain't a good time or place for introduction. It's best you just move on and leave us be. We don't got room to take in new people."

"Oh I'm not here for food or anything like that," said Aaron. "Besides, I already got my own group. I'm here as a scout."

"A scout?"

"My community is always looking for new people to join us. I wasn't expecting to encounter a group this big but the more the merrier."

Rick was suspicious, especially after their experiences at Terminus. "Look no offense, but we haven't had positive experiences with sanctuaries. How do we know we can trust you?"

"I completely understand. I guess the only way you can know is to just find out. I mean we got walls, and a clinic, and food..."

"Seriously?" said Glenn.

"Serious," said Aaron.

"And these people..." asked Daryl. "They'll take us in? Just like that?"

"Well, of course, they'll have to give you the Q&A to see if they can trust you. But you know, we're not picky people and you look like you need it. Was that your bus I saw? Where were you guys headed anyway?"

"Washington," said Rick as he looked at Eugene. "But we've...it looks like that's not an option anymore."

"My community is in Alexandria. It's only a few hours drive from here and you're gonna find more there than you will in Washington. I've been there and it's a ghost town."

"Look I'm sure we appreciate the offer but..."

"If I were you, I'd talk it over with your group," said Aaron. "I got plenty of time since this lady has her sword on me."

Rick nodded in agreement. Michonne would be in charge of guarding Aaron while a decision was being made about Aaron's offer.

"I honestly don't know about this," said Rick. "It could be another Terminus."

"Did you not hear what he said?" said Maggie. "They have food AND a clinic. They could help Beth."

"But can we trust them?"

"What choice do we got?" said Daryl. "Kid's comin' and we got no other place to go now."

"I think we should ask her." Rick approached Beth. "Beth, no pressure. You're having this baby so you get to decide what to do. The rest of the group will follow you."

Maggie sat by her sister. "They could have an ultrasound machine there."

"I was thinking that too," said Beth. "Daryl's right, though. We don't have a lot of choices now. Let's do it."

Rick informed everyone that they would take their chances with the Alexandria community. "What do we do about Eugene?" Rick asked Abraham.

"Well now that we all know his dirty little secret, I guess he's not a threat to us anymore. I'll keep my eye on him. But we can't let blondie back on the bus."

"What?!" said Daryl. "You'll let the man who try to kidnap someone back on the bus but not some pregnant girl?"

"She's still a danger with that walker inside of her. Find yourselves another vehicle if you want her coming with us."

"I don't believe this!"

Rick feared he wasn't going to be able to overrule Abraham on this decision, especially now since everyone knew. "Daryl, it's fine. We'll find another car and then we'll all leave together."

They spent the next hour eventually finding a working abandoned ambulance with just barely enough gas for the trip. Daryl, Maggie, and Glenn all agreed to ride with Beth in the ambulance while the others would be on the bus. Upset as she was that Abraham saw her a threat, Beth was relieved that she wasn't with the rest of the group now that her secret was out.

"Man, that's just freaky," said Glenn. "I mean, if the baby's a walker, how is Beth still alive?"

"We don't even know if he is a walker," said Maggie.

"Cause it ain't" said Daryl. "We'll prove them wrong when we get there. You got nothin' to worry about Beth," he told her.

But Beth was worried about one thing. "What if the people in Alexandria find out?"

Maggie assured her. "Beth, I know Abraham can be a hardass but I don't think anyone else would rat you out like that."

"If they know what's good for them. They'll keep their mouth shut," said Daryl.

...

They were all in disbelief as to what they saw. They had driven into a lush walled neighborhood like nothing they had seen in a long time. The houses weren't boarded up nor seemed abandoned. People were working. Children were playing outside. It seemed very surreal.

Aaron led the group to one of the houses which had a very well kept lawn. "Our leader Douglas lives in this house, here. He'll want to interview guys. Maybe not all of you but as many as he can. Rick, since you're the leader of this bunch, you should go first."

While Rick and the others were getting interviewed, Beth took in her new surroundings. Alexandria was like nothing she had seen since they lost the prison...in fact in many ways it seemed even better than the prison.

"Do we really get to have our own houses?" Glenn asked Aaron.

"Well we only have a few vacant houses for now. You'll all need to share some space until we get the expansion of the wall done. Some of you guys will probably be helping out with that if you're fit for the job."

Rick came out of the house. "He wants to talk to Daryl next."

Daryl went in and was met with a suave balding older man. "You must be Daryl," said the man. "Rick has said nothing but good things about you. I'm the leader of this community, Douglas Monroe."

Daryl gave Monroe a sloppy handshake and sat down at the dining room table across from him. "Tell me, what was your life before the turn? What was your occupation?"

"I was..." Daryl stopped. He couldn't tell this guy he was practically nothing. It took a lot in him to finally reveal that truth to Beth and he decided she was the only one who was worthy of knowing that fact. "I was doin' freelancin'."

"A self-made man? No wonder you've done so well out there. I'm not so certain what kind of work we would find for you. Perhaps we can put you on a construction crew."

Daryl didn't like that. "You don't need anyone to hunt?"

"Hunt?" Douglas laughed. "We have plenty of livestock and a fishing farm here. We're not desperate enough for that. No, I think the construction crew will have to do for now."

"Whatever," Daryl grumbled. Douglas was looking out the window at the group. "I think I should interview that pregnant girl, next."

But Daryl didn't like the sound of that. "Why?"

"I just feel it necessary too. You're dismissed."

Daryl went outside to see Beth. "He wants to talk to you next."

"Really?"

"Yeah...something's off about him though. Just be careful in there," he told her.

Beth waddled her way into the house. "Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"Beth Greene."

"Beth, I'm Douglas Monroe. Have a seat on the couch. You'll be more comfortable there in your condition." Beth sank herself into the sofa. "How far along are you Beth?"

"Um...I think around 8 months...almost 9."

"Well should I congratulate you or was this not something you intended?"

"Doesn't matter anymore."

"And what about the father?"

She didn't know how to answer that. She couldn't let this man on about how unintended this pregnancy was. "Dead," she said almost hesitantly.

"I'm very sorry about that."

"Yeah..." Beth muttered looking down at the floor.

"I'll have you know that we have a few doctors here. At least one with experience in pregnancy. She'll be able to help you when you need it. We don't have many little ones here. So it's very welcomed. Since you are in no condition for actual work, might I suggest you can help out in the daycare with Miss Hennings? It would be good practice for what is coming for you."

Beth reluctantly agreed to her new role. After the others had been interviewed it was time for the group to decide how they would divide themselves in terms of housing. Some of the houses were smaller than the others. Everyone agreed to let Maggie and Glenn have their own house and Beth would be staying with them.

"Sorry, Daryl," said Rick. "Can't seem to find a free bedroom for you."

"Don't need it," he said. "I can sleep on a couch just fine."

Beth had overheard their conversation. "Don't be ridiculous, Daryl! Our house still has one more bedroom. You can stay with us."

"I ain't intrudin'."

"You're not. Please? I insist on it."

"I'd listen to her, Daryl," said Maggie. She started to chuckle. "It sounds like that time in the pregnancy where she's gettin' pretty bossy."

"Fine," he said.

Douglas had been watching the group from afar as Aaron was helping them get settled. He knew something was off about the pregnant girl and it didn't help matters how close and friendly she seemed with that older gruff redneck. It was a rather unusual relationship. He didn't know what it was that made him suspicious of the group but he would find out eventually.

* * *

**Damn! This chap was longer than I expected. But hey Daryl and Beth are living together. Happy Bethyl times!**


End file.
